Bags with coupons

ABSTRACT

Bag having coupons selectively positioned thereon are disclosed.

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/730,022, filed on Nov. 26, 2012 and incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Many retail stores and other commercial establishments use coupons orother advertising materials to provide discounts or information tocustomers. The present invention is directed to consumer bags with suchmaterials selectively positioned thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention includes a bag having a couponaffixed thereto. The bag, when in a closed configuration, defines anonuniform thickness such that the bag has a thickest portion that isthicker than another portion of the bag. The bag includes two exteriorfaces, an open mouth end defined by the exterior faces, a sealed bottomend joining the exterior faces, and a coupon region on an exterior faceof the bag. The coupon region has a thickness that is less than thethickest portion of the bag. The bag also includes a coupon removablyaffixed at the coupon region such that the thickness of the couponregion of the bag with the coupon affixed is substantially equal to orless than the thickest portion of the bag.

In another embodiment, the present invention includes a stack of aplurality of individual bags having a coupon affixed to at least twentypercent of the individual bags. The individual bags, when in a closedconfiguration and in the stack, define a nonuniform thickness and athickest portion that is thicker than another portion of the bag stack.The individual bags of individual bags include two exterior faces, anopen mouth end defined by the exterior faces, and a sealed bottom endjoining the exterior faces. The individual bag also includes a couponregion on an exterior face of an individual bag, and the coupon regionhas a thickness that is less than the thickest portion of the individualbag. The stack further includes coupons removably affixed at the couponregion of at least twenty percent of the individual bags in the stacksuch that the thickness of the stack at the coupon region with thecoupons affixed is substantially equal to or less than the thickestportion of the stack.

In still another embodiment, the present invention includes a stack of aplurality of individual bags having a coupon affixed to certain of theindividual bags. The individual bags, when in a closed configuration andin the stack, define a nonuniform thickness and a thickest portion thatis thicker than another portion of the bag stack. In addition, theindividual bags include two exterior faces, an open mouth end defined bythe exterior faces, and a sealed bottom end joining the exterior faces.Furthermore, the bags include a coupon removably affixed on an exteriorface of one or more individual bags in the stack wherein such couponsare selectively located on such one or more individual bags such thatthe thickness of the stack where any coupons are located issubstantially equal to or less than the thickest portion of the stack.

In still another embodiment, the present invention includes a stack of aplurality of individual bags having a coupon affixed to certain of theindividual bags. The individual bags, when in a closed configuration andin the stack, define a nonuniform thickness and a thickest portion thatis thicker than another portion of the bag stack. The individual bagsinclude two exterior faces, an open mouth end defined by the exteriorfaces, and a sealed bottom end joining the exterior faces. In addition,coupons are removably affixed on respective exterior faces of one ormore individual bags in the stack wherein the coupon is selectivelylocated on such individual bags such that the thickness of the stackwhere any coupon is located is substantially equal to or less than thethickest portion of the stack.

The present invention may be better understood by reference to thedescription and figures that follow. It is to be understood that theinvention is not limited in its application to the specific details asset forth in the following description and figures. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out invarious ways.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention are better understood when the following detailed descriptionis read with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a bag with a coupon, wherein the bag is shownin a closed configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the bag shown FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a front view of the bag in FIG. 1 folded once in the lengthdirection;

FIG. 3B is a front view of the folded bag of FIG. 3A havingcross-hatched sections indicated for reference;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a bag with a coupon, wherein the bag is shownin a closed configuration and folded once in the length direction, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a bag stack in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an end view of a bag stack in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is an end view of a bag stack in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 8A is an end view of a bag with a coupon affixed thereto; and

FIG. 8B is an end view of a bag stack in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an expanded perspective view of a bag stack in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is an expanded perspective view of a bag stack in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of theinvention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation,not limitation, of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in thepresent invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof.For instance, features illustrated or described as part of oneembodiment may be used on another embodiment to yield a still furtherembodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers suchmodifications and variations as come within the scope of the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

Referring to FIG. 1, bag 100, which is illustrated as a t-shirt bag, isshown. As illustrated, bag 100 has an open mouth end 102 and a sealedbottom end 104 at opposing longitudinal ends. In some embodiments,sealed bottom end 104 may be formed by a heat seal. Bag 100 alsoincludes faces 106 (with a front face shown and a rear face, not shown,on the rear side of the bag). Bag 100 also has laterally-spaced,upwardly extending handle portions 108. Each handle portion 108 mayinclude an aperture portion 110 for mounting a bag or a stack of bags ona dispensing rack system. In addition, bag 100 includes a central tab112 having a slit or aperture 114 for mounting the bag on a dispensingrack system. In some embodiments, central tab 112 may be integral to bag100 while in other embodiments central tab 112 may be detachablyconnected to bag 100, such as by way of a perforation line or anaperture that separates central tab 112 from bag 100 upon tearing. Asshown in FIG. 1, bag 100 also includes gussets 116, which have an innergusset point 116′. Bag 100 is shown in a closed configuration in whichthe bag is not opened, i.e., front and rear faces 106 are back-to-backand the gussets are not open.

With further reference to FIG. 1, bag 100 also has coupon 118 removablyaffixed to face 106. In some embodiments, the coupon may be a voucherfor a discount, an advertisement, promotional material, material for agame contest, or any other externally mounted attachment. Coupon 118 maybe made of any material, such as plastic, paper, or other suitablematerials, including combinations thereof. Coupons may be affixed tobags of the present invention using any conventional techniques known inthe art, such as adhesion. In addition, coupons of the present inventionmay be a single sheet or have a single layer in some embodiments. Inother embodiments, coupons may have multiple layers or may be arrangedin a fan-fold, or accordion, format. Coupons may optionally include tab119, which may aid in removing a coupon from the face of a bag.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a coupon may beselectively positioned in a coupon region of a bag such that the coupondoes not increase or, alternatively, substantially increase the maximumthickness of the bag when the bag is closed as compared to a bag withoutthe coupon attached thereto. By way of example only, as shown in FIG. 2,the area between gussets 116 of the bag 100 has a thickness of twoplies, and the gusseted areas have a thickness of four plies each. Inthis regard, the void area above the two-ply region as compared with theadjacent four-ply regions forms coupon region 120 (shown as the areademarcated by the dashed line in FIG. 2). As a result, a coupon that isless than or substantially equal to two plies of thickness may be placedin coupon region 120 such that the coupon region 120, after a coupon isapplied, is not thicker, or in some embodiments not substantiallythicker, than any other portion of the bag. By selectively placing acoupon in a coupon region in this manner, the thickness of the couponcan be “hidden” with respect to the overall thickness of a bag. It is tobe understood that the 2-ply versus 4-ply embodiment is only an exampleand that various other arrangements (for example 5-ply versus 3-ply,6-ply versus 2-ply, etc.) may be employed.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a bag, such as the T-shirtbag shown in FIG. 1, may be folded in the length direction, as shown inFIG. 3A, such as for packaging the bags in cartons or for storing thebags. In such embodiments, an example of which is depicted in FIG. 3Busing the 4-ply versus 2-ply exemplary arrangement, folded bag 100 hasnon-uniform thickness, including region A with eight plies, region Bwith four plies, region C with four plies, and region D with two plies(not including the coupon itself). Thus, region A represents thethickest portion of the bag. In this regard, due to the open areabetween the handles of the bags, the thickness of the coupon region isincreased as compared with anon-folded bag. As a result, region B and/orC may serve as a coupon region for a coupon having a thicknesssubstantially equal to or less than the thickness of four plies, andregion D may serve as a coupon region for a coupon having a thicknesssubstantially equal to or less than the thickness of six plies. In someembodiments, a coupon may extend over an entire coupon region, whereasin other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3A, a coupon may only extend overa portion of a coupon region.

In an alternative embodiment, a coupon may overlap two regions of a bag.For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, coupon 118 may beselectively placed such that coupon 118 is partially overlapped by tab112 of a folded T-shirt bag. In one such embodiment, coupon 118 may havea thickness that is substantially equal to or less than four plies ofthe exemplary bag such that the area in which the coupon is affixed doesnot exceed the maximum thickness of the bag at any other locationwithout the coupon.

With reference again to FIG. 1, and by way of further illustration andwithout limitation, an exemplary bag of the present invention may havedimensions measuring about as follows:

A: 12 inches B: 3.5 inches C: 5 inches D: 22 inches E: 6 inches F: 7inches

In one embodiment, the thickness of a film layer of the bag may be atleast about 0.0005 inches or at least ⅙th of the coupon thickness. Whena bag is folded in the length direction, as shown in FIG. 3, the bag mayhave folded dimensions of about 12 inches wide and about 11 inches longin some embodiments.

In one illustrative embodiment, a coupon may have a total thickness ofabout 0.003 inches. In some embodiments, the coupon size may beapproximately 3.5 inches wide×2.5 inches tall. In some embodiments, acoupon may be positioned in a coupon region of a bag such that thebottom edge of the coupon is about 2 inches above the bottom seal. Insome embodiments, a coupon may be positioned with its bottom edge atleast 0.5 inches above the bottom seal of a bag.

In addition to individual bags, embodiments of the present inventioninclude bag stacks, also called bag packs, in which a plurality of bagsare joined, such as the exemplary bag stack 101 shown in FIG. 5. Bagstacks may be formed, by way of example and without limitation, as setforth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,580, which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference thereto. Bag stacks may contain any number of bagsand, in some exemplary embodiments, a bag stack may contain 50 bags or100 bags. In some embodiments of the present invention, some or all ofthe bags in a bag stack may have a coupon thereon. In some embodiments,each bag in a bag stack may have a coupon thereon as described above. Inalternative embodiments, every other bag or every third bag or everyfourth bag in a bag stack may have a coupon affixed thereon as describedabove. In some embodiments, at least 20% of the bags in the bag stackhave a coupon affixed. Bags in a bag stack of the present invention mayhave identical or varied coupons affixed thereto and different types ofcoupons maybe be employed on individual bags in the same stack.

Finally, in still further embodiments of the present invention, aplurality of adjacent (and, possibly, releasably interconnected as byway of a score line) bags of the present invention may be provided as aroll of bags, wherein some or all of the bags have a coupon affixedthereon as described above.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a stack of bags may be formed by adjacent bagswherein some or all bags have a coupon selectively located in a couponregion. With respect to FIG. 6, ten bags having the same structure areadjacent in bag stack 101. Because each of coupons 118 are affixed to abag 100 in a coupon region, bag stack 101 is not thicker at the locationof the coupon in bag stack as compared with any other point in the bagstack.

In alternate embodiments of bag stacks of the present invention, coupons118 may only be applied to some bags in a bag stack. For example, FIG. 7illustrates an exemplary embodiment in which bag stack 101 has ten bags100 adjacent in the stack. In that depicted embodiment, coupons 118 areaffixed in a coupon region of only two individual bags 100 in bag stack101 (representing coupons on 20% of bags 100 in bag stack 101).

In alliterative embodiments of the present invention, a coupon may beplaced on a greater or smaller percentage of bags in a stack. In oneembodiment, a coupon is selectively placed in the coupon region of a bagor the coupon region of a bag stack on at least about 50% of the bags ina stack. In one particular embodiment, a coupon may be placed on everyother bag or every third bag in a bag stack. In other exemplaryembodiments, a coupon may be placed in this manner on at least about20%, 25%, 30%, and 33% of individual bags in a bag stack.

In some embodiments, a coupon that is thicker than a coupon region foran individual bag may be selectively located in a bag stack such thatthe entire bag stack at the location of the affixed coupons does nothave a thickness that is greater than the maximum thickness of the bagstack at any other point. For example, FIG. 8A illustrates bag 100having coupon 118 that is thicker than the void space of coupon region120 of bag 100. FIG. 8B illustrates bag stack 102 having a plurality ofbags 100. In the depicted embodiment, five bags have a coupon affixedthat is thicker than the coupon region for the individual bag to whichthe coupon is attached (as illustrated in FIG. 8A for a single bag). Byselectively locating such thicker coupons 118 in the coupon region ofindividual bags and by including coupons 118 on less than all of bags100 in bag stack 101, bag stack 101 is not thicker at the location ofcoupons 118 than the thickest portion of bag stack 101. As such, in someembodiments of the present invention, coupons may have a thickness thatis greater than the coupon region of a single bag and still not increasethe thickness of a bag stack.

In an alternative embodiment of a bag stack of the present invention,coupons that are thicker than an individual bag's coupon region may beselectively located on individual bags such bag stack at the location ofany coupons is not thicker than any other portion of the bag stack. Byway of example, FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary exploded view of a stackof three bags 10. As shown in FIG. 9, coupons 118 are located in astaggered orientation on adjacent bags. In this regard, the selectiveplacement of coupons 118 on bags 100 may allow for coupons that arethicker than a coupon region for an individual bag without increasingthe overall thickness of a bag stack. In particular, in the embodimentshown in FIG. 9, the thickness of the coupons in the bag stack isalternated instead of being located in the same portion of each bag inthe bag stack, thereby relatively reducing the overall thickness of thebag stack at the locations of the coupons as compared with a bag stackwithout a staggered orientation of coupons.

In alternative embodiments, more than two staggered coupon placementlocations may exist for bags within a bag stack. In some embodiments,coupons are staggered in two, three, or four coupon locations. In stillother embodiments, coupons may be staggered in other patterns, such asshown the alternating pattern shown in FIG. 10. In some embodiments ofbag stacks with staggered coupons, coupons may be located on less thanall of the bags in the bag stack, such as discussed above.

As indicated above, bags may be folded in the length direction, such asfor shipping and packaging. In some embodiments, bags may be joinedtogether in a bag stack, and then the bag stack may be folded over inthe length direction. In this manner, the thickness of coupon regionsfor individual bags in the bag stack may be increased for certain bags,such as t-shirt bags, as previously discussed for an individual bag withreference to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B.

Bags of the present invention may be manufactured by processes known toone of ordinary skill in the art, such as those described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,562,580, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by referencethereto. Bags of the present invention may be comprised of any suitablematerials, including polyethylene, paper, or other materials that wouldbe readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Coupons may be applied to bags of the present invention by any suitableprocess known in the industry. In some embodiments, a coupon may beapplied by peeling or removing a label from a lining and then rolling orblowing the coupon onto the bag surface. In other embodiments, anadhesive may be applied to a coupon and/or a bag prior to affixing acoupon. The coupon may be applied directly to the bag in someembodiments, and in other embodiments the coupon may be placed on aliner on the bag.

Although the foregoing examples are shown with respect to T-shirt bags,one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the invention mayalso be used on other types of bags, such as, but not limited to,produce bags in a stack, produce bags on a roll, shopping bags on aroll, and other bag types.

In some embodiments, the present invention also includes embodiments fora plurality of bag stacks arranged in a carton. For example, bag stacksof the present invention may be folded in half and stored in a carton,such as a box, for shipping or storage. In some instances, such bagstacks may be alternated (such as with one folded bag stack having itsmouth end facing in one direction and an adjacent folded bag stackhaving its mouth end facing in the opposite direction). In addition,some bag stacks may have increased thickness at the location of a heatseal, such that such an alternating pattern may create additional spacebetween bag stacks to “hide” a thicker area of a bag stack at which oneor more coupons are applied to bags. Thus, such an arrangement mayalleviate or reduce within the plurality of bag stacks any extrathickness of an individual bag stack that is formed by one or morecoupons with the individual bag stack. In other words, to the extent oneor more coupons within a bag stack create a “bump” in the bag stack, thealternating arrangement of bag stacks in a carton may “hide” the bump.

The foregoing description of illustrative embodiments of the inventionhas been presented only for the purpose of illustration and descriptionand is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to theprecise forms disclosed. Numerous modifications and adaptations thereofwill be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departingfrom the scope of the present invention.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find utility in applications differing fromthe types described. While the invention has been illustrated anddescribed in the general context of mixing in wastewater treatmentsystems and processes, it is not intended to be limited to the detailsshown since various modifications and substitutions can be made withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit and scope of the present invention.As such further modifications and equivalents of the invention hereindisclosed may occur to persons skilled in the art using no more thanroutine experimentation, and all such modifications and equivalents arebelieved to be within the spirit and scope of the invention as describedherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bag having a coupon affixed thereto comprising:a bag that, when in a closed configuration, defines a nonuniformthickness and a thickest portion that is thicker than another portion ofthe bag, the bag comprising: two exterior faces, an open mouth enddefined by the exterior faces, a sealed bottom end joining the exteriorfaces, and a coupon region on an exterior face of the bag wherein thecoupon region has a thickness that is less than the thickest portion ofthe bag; and a coupon removably affixed at the coupon region such thatthe thickness of the coupon region of the bag with the coupon affixed issubstantially equal to or less than the thickest portion of the bag. 2.The bag of claim 1 wherein the bag comprises two gussets and wherein thecoupon region between the two gussets.
 3. The bag of claim 2 wherein thebag is a T-shirt bag having handles and a handle cut-out region.
 4. Thebag of claim 3 wherein the coupon region is located such that the couponregion is within the handle cut-out region upon folding of the bag inthe length direction.
 5. A stack of a plurality of individual bagshaving a coupon affixed to at least twenty percent of the individualbags, comprising: a plurality of individual bags that, when in a closedconfiguration and in the stack, define a nonuniform thickness and athickest portion that is thicker than another portion of the bag stack,the individual bags comprising: two exterior faces, an open mouth enddefined by the exterior faces, a sealed bottom end joining the exteriorfaces, and a coupon region on an exterior face of an individual bagwherein the coupon region has a thickness that is less than the thickestportion of the individual bag, and wherein coupons are removably affixedat the coupon region of at least twenty percent of the individual bagsin the stack such that the thickness of the stack at the coupon regionwith the coupons affixed is substantially equal to or less than thethickest portion of the stack.
 6. The bag of claim 5 wherein eachindividual bag comprises two gussets and wherein the coupon regionbetween the two gussets.
 7. The bag of claim 6 wherein each individualbag is a T-shirt bag having handles and a handle cut-out region.
 8. Thebag of claim 7 wherein the coupon region is located such that the couponregion is within the handle cut-out region upon folding of an individualbag in the length direction.
 9. A stack of a plurality of individualbags having a coupon affixed to certain of the individual bags,comprising: a plurality of individual bags that, when in a closedconfiguration and in the stack, define a nonuniform thickness and athickest portion that is thicker than another portion of the stack,wherein, the individual bags comprise: two exterior faces, an open mouthend defined by the exterior faces, and a sealed bottom end joining theexterior faces, and wherein a coupon is removably affixed on an exteriorface of one or more individual bags in the stack wherein such couponsare selectively located on such individual bags such that the thicknessof the stack where any coupons are located is substantially equal to orless than the thickest portion of the stack.
 10. A stack of a pluralityof individual bags having a coupon affixed to certain of the individualbags, comprising: a plurality of individual bags that, when in a closedconfiguration and in the stack, define a nonuniform thickness and athickest portion that is thicker than another portion of the bag stack,the individual bags comprising: two exterior faces, an open mouth enddefined by the exterior faces, a sealed bottom end joining the exteriorfaces, and wherein coupons are removably affixed on respective exteriorfaces of one or more individual bags in the stack wherein the coupon isselectively located on such bags such that the thickness of the stackwhere any coupon is located is substantially equal to or less than thethickest portion of the stack.
 11. A plurality of folded bag stacksarranged in a carton, wherein: one or more bags within at least a firstfolded bag stack in the carton have a coupon affixed thereto, whereinthe first folded bag stack in the carton has a mouth end facing a firstdirection and a second folded bag stack is adjacent to the first foldedbag stack and has a mouth end facing a second direction that is oppositethe first direction, and wherein the first bag stack has a thickest bagportion that is located in a region at which one or more coupons areapplied to one ore more bags within said bag stack, and wherein theplurality of bag stacks arranged in the carton do not have a regionthicker than the remainder of the bag stacks at the thickest portion ofthe first bag stack.
 12. The plurality of folded bag stacks arranged ina carton of claim 11, wherein the plurality of bag stacks are arrangedsuch that each bag stack has a mouth end facing an opposite directionthan the mouth end of each adjacent bag stack.